How to cook oysters. How and where to properly store oysters

Oysters belong to bivalve mollusks and are found in warm seas. The unusual taste and nutritional value of oyster meat were discovered by man thousands of years ago. Nowadays, this product is a delicacy that is valued by gourmets and belongs to the elite of the gastronomic world. Oysters, the benefits and harms of which will be discussed in detail below, are a rather expensive product and retain their properties only when consumed fresh.

Their biological class relatives are similar to oysters in composition and appearance, but the latter have a coarser and simpler taste. Oysters and mussels, which differ in their modes of movement and lifestyle, are not interchangeable. Mussels often contain large amounts of sand inside and are not eaten raw.

Compound

Oyster meat has high nutritional qualities and is superior even to fish in this regard. It contains:

• fats;
• large amount of protein;
• carbohydrates;
• vitamins A, D, C, PP and group B;
• minerals - zinc, phosphorus, iodine, manganese, cobalt, fluorine, chromium and many others;

Beneficial features

The unusual chemical composition, which provides oysters with such an excellent and delicate taste, has a calming effect on the nervous system, and the content of vitamins and minerals fully corresponds to the daily human need for these elements. Oysters, whose beneficial properties are combined with their low calorie content, can be called an ideal food for people who care about their health and appearance.

Such an essential microelement for human life as zinc, which is contained in oyster meat in fairly high concentrations, maintains healthy hair, skin and nails. This element is especially useful for men - it strengthens reproductive function. Oysters are, that is, a product that increases sexual desire.

Other beneficial properties of oysters include:

• Beneficial effects on the hematopoietic system (hematologists note the benefits of eating oysters in the treatment of anemia);
• Positive effect on the nervous system;
• General strengthening effect on the body;
• Prevention and therapy of cancer (the product contains large quantities of fatty acids, including Omega-3, a substance that can stop the proliferation of cells in malignant tumors);
• Increased performance and endurance due to the effects of thiamine, a substance also known as B1 and an accelerator of metabolic processes in the body;
• Prevention of thyroid diseases due to the high concentration of iodine in the composition;
• Positive effect on the heart and blood vessels due to the presence of sterols - natural compounds that...

In addition, regular consumption of oysters improves the emotional state, eliminates irritability and helps women in the treatment of cellulite (it would seem, where is the cellulite, and where are the oysters?). The low calorie content of oysters (only 72 calories per 100 g) makes them an ideal dietary component.

Possible harm of oysters

A categorical contraindication to the use of this product is individual intolerance to any of the substances included in the composition. For people prone to allergic reactions to seafood, it is better not to take risks and not eat oysters either raw or cooked.

Those who suffer from diseases of the stomach, spleen and pancreas should not eat oysters. Pregnant women and mothers during breastfeeding are also not recommended to consume this shellfish.

The very process of eating oysters should be approached with caution. Firstly, you need to be 100% sure that the product is fresh, and secondly, each shellfish must be carefully examined for the presence of fragments from the walls of the shell - otherwise, damage to the mucous membrane of the digestive tract may occur.

How do you eat oysters?

The classic method of eating oysters is to eat them alive, raw, served on pieces of crushed ice and sprinkled with lemon juice. You can season the oyster with black pepper or dip it in a special vinegar sauce. In restaurants, in order to avoid dangerous situations, oysters are served already opened along with a special oyster fork with two prongs - this is an ideal option for the first acquaintance with oysters.

The question arises - how to open oysters at home? According to the rules adopted in countries where oysters are a common product, this is done using a special knife with a short blade and a protective device on the handle to protect hands from damage from the sharp edges of the shells.

If you don’t have such a tool, you can use a regular knife with a short blade and proceed according to the following instructions:

1. Rinse the clam in cold water and remove any remaining sand from it.
2. Wrap the oyster in a kitchen towel to prevent injury.
3. Place the clam on the table with the lid facing up and press down with your hand.
4. Insert the tip of the knife between the flaps and move the knife, making gentle rotational movements, until you hear a characteristic click.
5. Run a knife along the entire length of the gap between the valves and cut the muscle of the mollusk that holds the valves closed (press the knife from the inside to the top valve to avoid damaging the body of the oyster).
6. Open carefully so that the juice does not spill out and remove the top flap.
7. Run a knife under the oyster's body to cut the lower muscle that attaches the mollusk to the shell.

Oysters, the recipes for which number in the hundreds, can also be baked, boiled, fried, or cooked in batter. Fresh oysters can be purchased in special stores all year round, but gourmets prefer to eat oysters in the fall and winter - they taste better during these seasons.

Remember that the value of these shellfish depends on their freshness - if the oyster does not show signs of life when the shell is opened, then it has already died, and eating it will not bring much benefit. Some gourmets remove the fringed part with gills and muscles from the body of the mollusk.

Frozen oysters should be cooked immediately after thawing. Cook them for no longer than 1 minute. Heat-treated oysters, of course, lose many of their beneficial qualities, but remain no less tasty.

Not everyone can treat themselves to oysters due to their considerable cost. But even those lucky ones who have such an opportunity very often find themselves completely disappointed by the taste of shellfish. This often happens if the technology for preparing and eating oysters was violated or their quality was simply inadequate. Indeed, it is not for nothing that such a product is considered a true delicacy.

How to properly cook and eat oysters at home?

Anyone who knows a lot about oysters will undoubtedly say that shellfish should be consumed fresh, without resorting to heat treatment. Only in this case you will be able to enjoy their original, unique taste. In this case, it is necessary to open live mollusks using a special knife, opening the valves and very carefully cutting the muscle that holds them together. If the oyster is truly alive and fresh inside, it will be accompanied by a small amount of liquid, which, like shellfish meat, has considerable value and a certain taste. Live oysters are traditionally served with lemon juice and a glass of good white wine.

Before putting the oyster in your mouth, use a fork to remove the meat from the shell and pour lemon juice over it. Swallow the shellfish along with liquid and additives, without chewing, and wash it down with wine.

How to properly cook frozen oysters at home?

In our region, finding fresh, high-quality oysters is not so easy. It is more likely that in specialized stores or large supermarkets you can find frozen oysters, the cost of which, unlike fresh ones, is an order of magnitude lower. Is it worth buying such a product? In fact, the taste of the shellfish changes significantly after being frozen, but it cannot be said for the worse. It’s just that after cooking frozen oysters, we will end up with a completely different dish, completely different in taste, in the method of serving, and in the manner of consumption. There are many options for preparing such a product. We will offer only one of them and tell you how to bake oysters in the oven.

Baked oysters

Ingredients:

• frozen oysters - 7 shells;
• large red salad onion – 1 pc.;
• – 120 g;
• goat or sheep cheese – 120 g;
• dry white wine – 320 ml;
• leek – 1 stalk;
• – 25 ml.

Preparation

Place oyster shells, thawed at room temperature, in a saucepan, pour in a glass of wine, cover with a lid and, after the contents boil, simmer for two to three minutes. After this, remove the oyster meat from the shells onto a plate, and We rinse the sinks thoroughly, clean the outside and inside with a brush or washcloth.

Saute the chopped red onion and the white part of the leek in butter until soft, then pour in the remaining wine and fry the vegetables until the moisture evaporates. Now we put the onion mixture in the shells, place the oyster meat on top, sprinkle it with lemon juice, pour oil from the frying pan and crush it with grated cheese.

To bake, place the shells with their contents on a baking sheet, pouring a cushion of salt on it to stabilize the products, and place them in an oven preheated to 185 degrees for five minutes.

Video: How to Cook Oysters

Video: How to cook MUSSELS (shells) simple recipe

Of course, oysters - huîtres - deserve to be included in the chapter “Fish and Seafood”. We will not tell you how to cook oysters. If you really want to, you can simply bake them in the oven, brushing them with Provencal oil on top. But the question inevitably arises: why? After all, oysters are tastier and healthier to eat fresh – if, of course, they are really fresh. Remember how Oblonsky from Anna Karenina interrogated the Tatar clerk in a restaurant: “Are the Flensburg ones fresh?” So, stale oysters cannot be eaten even when cooked!

A very simple recipe for homemade oysters step by step with photos. Easy to prepare at home in 30 minutes. Contains only 214 kilocalories. Author's recipe for home cooking.

• Preparation time: 13 minutes
• Cooking time: 30 min
• Calorie Amount: 214 kilocalories
• Number of servings: 12 servings

• Complexity: Very simple recipe
• National cuisine: home kitchen
• Type of dish: Snack

Ingredients for four servings

Step-by-step preparation

1. Before serving, rinse the oysters a little in cold water and mercilessly discard those shells that are not tightly closed. You didn’t plan to ruin your vacation with severe poisoning, did you?!
2. To open an oyster, you will need a short, thick oyster knife with a sharp tip and preferably a special chain mail glove. If
3. If it’s not there, wrap your hand tightly in a cloth - otherwise you risk cutting your fingers or throwing away the rest of the oysters, giving up on the first dozen. Take the oyster with this hand, insert the tip of the knife into the narrower end of the shell - where the valves meet, and turn it 90°.
4. When the shell opens, trim the muscle and carefully remove the top of the shell. At the same time, try not to spill the liquid that is inside the sink. Now you need to separate the oyster from the shell by cutting off the part of the muscle that attaches it to the bottom. All! The oyster can be eaten immediately or placed on a plate filled with crushed ice.

Oysters are usually served with brown bread, butter, lemon halves and a sauce consisting of wine vinegar with chopped shallots. You can optionally drizzle the oyster swimming in its own juice with lemon or vinegar or do not drizzle it with anything, enjoying its true taste. Then you should turn it towards you with the wide end and swallow it along with the liquid, although you can chew it. This depends not only on the preferences of the eater, but also on the size of the oyster. By the way, if you have doubts about the freshness of the product, squeeze a little lemon juice onto the oyster - it should shrink a little. It is easy to determine the suitability of an oyster: as long as the shell is tightly closed, the mollusk is alive. Of course, this has nothing to do with frozen oysters, but they don't even deserve a mention here. If our ancestors indulged in oysters from Flensburg - the northernmost city in Germany, located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, which is also quite far from Russia - now we have the opportunity to get them directly from the oyster capital of the world: the town of Cancale, on the coast of Brittany. This tiny place is famous for its oyster harvest and even has an Oyster Museum. But if you can skip visiting the museum, then you should definitely walk along the oyster trays placed right on the seashore. The seller will open the sea catch especially for you and pour a glass of cool white wine. The oysters themselves are very diverse. They are distinguished depending on the place of extraction, variety and size. And to find your favorites, you'll likely have to taste them all.

On September 22, the Belgian oyster season opens with an annual holiday in the “city of students and beer” Leuven near Brussels. Tourists from all over the world come to eat oysters. We will open the oyster season without leaving home - we will cook them ourselves.

OYSTERS WITH VEGETABLES

oysters - 40 pcs.

tomato - 2 pcs.

onions - 3 pcs.

carrots - 2 pcs.

lemon - 1 pc.

garlic - 5 cloves

flour - 1 tablespoon

vegetable oil - 5 tablespoons

salt, bay leaf, peppercorns - to taste

1. Boil the oysters until tender.
2. Finely chop the carrots and onions, add salt and add a small amount of water in which the oysters were boiled. Then add vegetable oil and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
3. Place stewed vegetables and oysters in a baking dish, pour in flour diluted in cold water, add salt, bay leaf and peppercorns to taste.
4. Place sliced ​​tomatoes and lemon on top. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. This dish should be served when it has cooled down.

OYSTER SOUP

To prepare this dish you will need:

oysters - 20 pcs.

milk - 1 l

butter - 100 g

eggs - 3 pcs.

flour - 1 tablespoon

parsley - 1 bunch

salt, ground black pepper - to taste

1. Melt the butter in a soup pan, then fry the flour in it until golden brown.
2. Pour in the milk, stirring continuously to prevent lumps from forming, add salt and pepper. When the mass becomes homogeneous, leave it to simmer over low heat under the lid for 15 minutes. Then add the shucked oysters and cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Beat the egg yolks and pour them into the soup, stirring continuously. Before serving, sprinkle the finished soup with finely chopped parsley.

OYSTERS WITH CHEESE

To prepare this dish you will need:

oysters - 10 pcs.

hard cheese - 100 g

butter - 100 g

salt, herbs - to taste

1. Grate the cheese.
2. Open the oyster shells and leave the oysters on the deeper shell.
3. Place the shells with oysters on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and grated cheese, and pour over melted butter. Bake at 200 degrees until golden brown.
Before serving, you can sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.

Bon appetit!

Not everyone can treat themselves to oysters due to their considerable cost. But even those lucky ones who have such an opportunity very often find themselves completely disappointed by the taste of shellfish. This often happens if the technology for preparing and eating oysters was violated or their quality was simply inadequate. Indeed, it is not for nothing that such a product is considered a true delicacy.

How to properly cook and eat oysters at home?

Anyone who knows a lot about oysters will undoubtedly say that shellfish should be consumed fresh, without resorting to heat treatment. Only in this case you will be able to enjoy their original, unique taste. In this case, it is necessary to open live mollusks using a special knife, opening the valves and very carefully cutting the muscle that holds them together. If the oyster is truly alive and fresh inside, it will be accompanied by a small amount of liquid, which, like shellfish meat, has considerable value and a certain taste. Live oysters are traditionally served with lemon juice and a glass of good white wine.

Before putting the oyster in your mouth, use a fork to remove the meat from the shell and pour lemon juice over it. Swallow the shellfish along with liquid and additives, without chewing, and wash it down with wine.

How to properly cook frozen oysters at home?

In our region, finding fresh, high-quality oysters is not so easy. It is more likely that in specialized stores or large supermarkets you can find frozen oysters, the cost of which, unlike fresh ones, is an order of magnitude lower. Is it worth buying such a product? In fact, the taste of the shellfish changes significantly after being frozen, but it cannot be said for the worse. It’s just that after cooking frozen oysters, we will end up with a completely different dish, completely different in taste, in the method of serving, and in the manner of consumption. There are many options for preparing such a product. We will offer only one of them and tell you how to bake oysters in the oven.

Baked oysters

Ingredients:

• frozen oysters - 7 shells;
• large red salad onion – 1 pc.;
• – 120 g;
• goat or sheep cheese – 120 g;
• dry white wine – 320 ml;
• leek – 1 stalk;
• – 25 ml.

Preparation

Place oyster shells, thawed at room temperature, in a saucepan, pour in a glass of wine, cover with a lid and, after the contents boil, simmer for two to three minutes. After this, remove the oyster meat from the shells onto a plate, and We rinse the sinks thoroughly, clean the outside and inside with a brush or washcloth.

Saute the chopped red onion and the white part of the leek in butter until soft, then pour in the remaining wine and fry the vegetables until the moisture evaporates. Now we put the onion mixture in the shells, place the oyster meat on top, sprinkle it with lemon juice, pour oil from the frying pan and crush it with grated cheese.

To bake, place the shells with their contents on a baking sheet, pouring a cushion of salt on it to stabilize the products, and place them in an oven preheated to 185 degrees for five minutes.